It Began With a Letter
by XxXxDarkVampirexXxX
Summary: Harry begins his sixth year by learning he has been lied to by those he always thought he could trust. Pretending as if he doesn't know about the betrayal, he plots. Harry soon begins receiving letters from a secret admirer, and it doesn't take him long to fall for the stranger. But who exactly is this person, and how will Harry react when he learns their identity? Slash fic!
1. Chapter 1

**Yo. You're going to have to forgive me for the long AN, but it should be the only time it happens. Anyway, I came up with this idea over the summer, and it's overdone, yes, I know, but I really wanted to try it out. **

**I don't want to be repeating warnings and such, so be sure to make note of them here, cause I'd really rather like to avoid being slammed for not warning people, when I already did. I **_**will**_** place trigger warnings at the beginning of chapters when needed, but that's it.**

**Warning: mentions of abuse-all kinds, and rape-I don't condone either of those. I've never suffered from abuse this bad, so this is just my imagination at work. Mentions of self-harm and attempted suicide. There will be both yaoi/slash and het pairings, along with mentions of twincest.**

**Bashing: Albus Dumbledore, Arthur, Molly, Percy, Ron, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, various Order/Light members I haven't fully decided on yet.**

**Dark!Harry, Slight OOC!Riddle-he's writing love letters, isn't he? Slight OOC!Snape. Can't think of anything else.**

**Pairings: TMRxHP/LVxHP, LMxSS, Past!RLxSB, FGxRL, FWxGW. Those are the only ones I have planned at the moment.**

**Okay, wow, this is long. Anyway, I think this is it. Sorry if I forgot something.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...**

It was ten forty in the morning of the first of September, and sixteen year old Harry Potter was standing the the middle of the very last compartment on the Hogwarts Express. The train wasn't due to depart for another twenty minutes. He was, for the first time, early.

Harry's promptness had to do with his uncle, of course, who had said he would drive Harry to King's Cross then or not at all. As Harry was desperate to return to school, he had agreed immediately.

Since he was so early however, none of his friends had yet arrived, leaving the teen all alone. But he didn't really mind, not right now in any case. Harry was, at the moment, focusing on bringing up a glamour that would conceal his thin, malnourished, battered and bruised body. He didn't want anyone finding out how the Dursleys _really_ treated him.

Sighing in relief when he saw the dark hand print shaped bruise around his thin wrist vanish, he knew the rest of the injuries he couldn't see were concealed too. Harry sank down next to the window, content on waiting for his friends to arrive. They hadn't been in contact all summer. Uncle Vernon had threatened to shoot Hedwig upon their return to Privet Drive, so Harry had sent his beloved owl off to the Weasley twins Fred and George. They would take care of her. He just hoped they hadn't tested their products on her. He trusted them to not harm her, but still.

Speaking, or rather, thinking of hoping, he hoped his friends were doing better than he was after their...foray to the Ministry last June. He knew Neville, Luna, and Ginny would be alright, physically at least. None of them had been injured very seriously. Ron _should_ have been okay, but he hoped the 'brain incident' hadn't addled with _Ron's_ brain. Hermione was the one he was really worried about. Dolohov's curse had been particularly nasty, and he hoped she was all cured from that.

Harry's eyes squeezed shut as the memories of Sirius falling through the veil assaulted his mind. _Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Oh, Merlin, not now. Please not now. _He didn't need to think about this right now.

A sudden commotion from outside the compartment caught his attention, and Harry glanced over, green eyes softening when he caught sight of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They seemed to be having an argument, which wasn't new or anything. Their expressions caught him off guard though. They were ones of pure contempt, that didn't seem to be directed at one another, but rather, at...him?

Before he could do or even say anything, the two entered the compartment, large smiles on their faces, and Harry frowned.

"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione, smiling happily.

"Great to see ya, mate!" said Ron, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey, guys," greeted Harry softly, quickly concealing his confusion. He watched his friends stash their trunks before sitting down. Hermione next to him and Ron across her. It didn't escape the black haired teen's notice that the other two remained seated closer to the compartment door than him.

"Merlin, Harry, you look exhausted," said Hermione with a small sigh. "The nightmares, right?"

"Why don't you take a nap, mate?" offered Ron, sounding unusually kind.

Harry hesitated, unsure of what exactly was going on. He knew something was wrong. He just didn't know what. In the end the teen just nodded, aware a nap was probably a good idea. Perhaps things would be clearer when he awoke. How very wrong he was...

"Ron! Shhh! Do you _want _him to wake up?!"

It was Hermione admonishing Ron in a hiss that woke the ever light sleeper, Harry Potter. He was about to open his eyes, but stopped when he heard Ron's reply to Hermione's previous comment.

"So what? Let the idiot wake up. Let him hear. Maybe then he'll finally realize that not everyone actually likes him."

Harry shifted slightly, but kept his eyes shut. He was in disbelief. Had _Ron_ really just said that? He waited for Hermione to start yelling at the redhead for his lack of loyalty.

"Listen Ron, I know exactly how you feel, but how do you expect to get into his vaults if he realizes we don't even care about him? I know how much you and your family, well, most of your family want Potter's gold, but I _need_ those books."

Harry just sat there, frozen in shock. He was sick, wasn't he? Delusional from a high fever? Right?

"Dumbledore's his magical guardian, right?" asked Ron, a frown evident in his voice. "Why can't he get into the loser's vaults?"

"_Because_, Ronald, they're keyed to his blood. So unless Potter allows them in, no one except the goblins can enter."

"Oh. But what about the vault he actually _knows _about? Dumbledore's been getting into that one since before Potter even knew it existed. How do you explain that?"

There was a deep sigh from Hermione. "That's just a trust vault. The rules are different."

Ron sighed. "Goblins. Bloody weird, that lot."

"Yes, well..." Hermione trailed off and Harry knew she had probably gone back to reading whatever book she had on her-probably one of their textbooks.

Harry wondered how long this had been going on for. How long had they been deceiving him like this? Who else was in on it? He didn't get much of a chance to dwell on it, for Ron began to speak once more.

"Is Dumbledore gonna reinforce the compulsions tonight?"

"After the feast, yes."

"And...I know Dumbledore's planning on Potter dying when he finishes off You-Know-Who, but what if he lives? Potter, I mean. Sure he's gonna marry Gin and everything, since that'll be what gets us all into his vaults and whatever, but what if Potter doesn't die?"

"Then he'll go to Azkaban," replied Hermione in the most casual of tones, as if she spoke or thought of this everyday.

"Azkaban?" repeated Ron, sounding a little confused.

"Well, he'll have _killed_ someone, Ron. It's going to be made that he could become the next Dark Lord and, in renewed fear, people will demand that he be imprisoned. We both know how the Dementors affect him, so I think it's safe to say he'll be Kissed fairly quickly. And if not," she went on, "there will be plenty of others in there who'll want him dead."

"Right, right." Harry could practically see Ron nodding sagely, arms crossed over his chest.*

It took all of Harry's willpower to ensure he didn't move. There was no way he wanted Ron and Hermione to realize he was awake. Though the betrayal was still strong, Harry already found himself plotting. He hadn't nearly been put into Slytherin for nothing after all...

*Anyone else picturing Naruto?

**And that's it for now. Chapter lengths will vary. Updates will probably be on the slow side, because I always seem to have writer's block. I'm open to suggestions and ideas. Feel free to ask any questions if you've got them. The first letter won't appear until chapter three-from what I've got planned in my mind at the moment. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yo. Glad you guys liked the first chapter. I know there wasn't much there, so I thought I'd put this up today. Please don't expect all updates to come this quickly. Thank you to all readers so far, and an extra thanks to anyone who reviewed. LL and DM might seem a bit ooc at times.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...**

"Hey, is that Hedwig?" asked Hermione suddenly.

"Crap, we better let her in. Potter will suspect us otherwise and that's the last thing we need."

Harry heard movement, and was suddenly assaulted by the smell of sweat and meat, meaning Ron had neared him. The redhead called the owl in, and quickly put her in her cage with a muttered curse. Harry found that he wanted to strangle Ron for even touching Hedwig after everything he had just heard. Shifting a little, he noticed that the mundane conversation Ron and Hermione had started, stopped quickly, but went on when it seemed that he didn't wake.

"Oh great," said Ron after a few moments, "it's Toad-Boy and Loony."

Harry forced himself not to frown. Clearly Neville and Luna were not part of this...betrayal. That made him strangely happy. He didn't react as the compartment door opened, or when Luna sat down next to him- Neville across her.

"Is Harry alright?" wondered Neville after the required pleasantries had been exchanged.

"He's just napping," replied Hermione, just barely managing to keep the irritation out of her voice. "Oh, look Ron, it's time for our rounds. We're Prefects, remember?"

"Ugh, fine," sighed Ron, obviously annoyed.

They left immediately after, and Harry had barely finished the thought of telling Neville and Luna about what had just happened, when a dreamy voice broke the silence.

"You can stop pretending to be asleep now, Harry."

Harry opened his eyes with a smile. Figures that it would be Luna of all people to realize what he was doing. "Neville, Luna," greeted Harry. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you right now. How were your summers?"

Though clearly confused about the whole pretending to sleep thing, Neville was the first to respond. "It was good," he said. "More than, actually. Gran said she was really proud of me for everything that happened in June, and that I really am my dad's son." He beamed happily. "She even bought me a new wand!"

Harry smiled, trying not to think about last June. "That's great, Nev." He looked at Luna, who was seated next to him. "How about you, Luna?"

"Oh summer was amazing," she replied, expression and tone both filled with their usual dreamy quality. "Daddy and I went away for a while, and we found a Crumpled Horn Snorkack! It was amazing..."

_Crumpled Horned Snorewhat? _Harry just chuckled instead. "I'm glad you had fun, Luna."

"How was your summer, Harry?" asked Neville.

Harry froze, and while the other boy looked at him in confusion, the blonde girl's eyes lost their dreamy quality for but a second as she looked at him carefully. Harry racked his brain for a way to play off his summer vacation as boring with nothing special occurring, but before he could...

"The Nargles told me you would be needing these, Harry," said Luna, rummaging in her bag. She pulled out a vial and a small container.

Harry stared as he quickly recognized what both were: Pain Relief potion and Bruise Salve. "Luna," he began slowly, "if I could, I would seriously hug you right now." He accepted both items and was trying to pull the stopper out of the Pain Reliever, when the compartment door suddenly slid open. Harry looked up quickly, not wanting anyone to see him taking the potion, least of all Ron and Hermione-rather-Weasley and Granger. Standing in the doorway however was Draco Malfoy, no doubt here to pay his yearly train visit. Surprisingly, he was alone. Harry began thinking quickly.

"Well well, if it isn't Potter, Longbottom, and Lovegood. What, Weasley and Granger aren't good enough for you any more?" questioned Malfoy mockingly.

Harry smirked. "No, they aren't." Malfoy and Neville both stared. "Now, I swear this isn't an ambush of any kind, so could you please come in and close the door?"

The platinum haired teen continued to stare in a very unMalfoy like manner. He seemed to realize that though, for he shut the door and, grey eyes narrowed in suspicion, took a seat directly across Harry. "What's this about, Potter?" he questioned. While he didn't have his wand in hand at the moment, he seemed to be awfully close to pulling it out.

Harry sighed. "Do you know any good privacy spells?"

Malfoy inclined his head and, understanding what it was that Harry _wasn't_ saying, took out his wand and cast them. "They're basic," he said at Harry's questioning look. "No one outside the compartment can see or hear anything."

The green eyed teen nodded. "Perfect."

"What's going on here, Potter?" Malfoy practically demanded.

"I want to call a truce," said Harry sans hesitation.

There was a long silence.

"W-what?" Malfoy looked more than a little confused, and he wasn't the only one.

"I want to call a truce," Harry repeated calmly.

"Why?" The question was asked curtly.

Running fingers through his hair, Harry said, "Because I'm tired of fighting with you. Because you're not an enemy of mine, at least, not any more."

Malfoy's eyes widened. "Are you going _Dark_, Potter!?"

"H-Harry...?" said Neville in a soft voice that held a hint of fear.

Only Luna didn't react, but knowing her, it was probably because she already knew the answer. She always did, that Luna.

Harry couldn't help but smirk. "Not exactly. More...neutral. For now that is." Smirk vanishing, he sighed. "I regret turning you away first year, Draco, and I'm truly sorry for that. Besides, something tells me you'd have made a far better friend than Ron Weasley," he ended with the barest hint of a sneer. Harry laughed upon seeing the uncharacteristic shock in those grey eyes, then hissed in pain.

That seemed to bring Luna out of whatever reverie she was in. "You should take the potions Harry. Oh, but mending the broken bones should be done first." She paused. "I don't know any spells that can check for injuries though," she added thoughtfully. "Would you mind helping, Draco?"

Perhaps it was the fact that some random Ravenclaw he'd probably never even spoken to had just called him by his first name, but Draco was quick to spring into action. "I have no idea why I'm doing this," he muttered before casting a spell that Harry easily recognized as being a simple diagnostic one.

"Where did you learn this spell?" inquired Harry. It wasn't as if they taught it in school or anything, not unless you took an optional NEWT in Healing.

"My mother," replied Draco absently. "She's a Healer, and taught me all the basic stuff since she's a little overprotective and whatnot. What the hell happened to you..." he ended on a murmur.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Neville, who was both watching the proceedings and keeping an eye on the door, nervously.

Not even registering who exactly had spoken to him, Draco answered in a voice coloured with shock. "The fore and ring fingers of your left hand are broken, left wrist is completely shattered, the shoulder of the same arm is dislocated, you have two broken ribs, you're nose is broken, and your right ankle is sprained*." He looked at Harry and yeah, the unMalfoy like stare was back.

Harry, unsure of what to say, stared back, eyes widening when he was told to drop his glamour and strip so that he could be healed better. Fighting with himself, Harry closed his eyes. "I'm trusting that none of this leaves the compartment." And he reluctantly allowed the glamour to vanish, while Draco used a disrobing spell, leaving him in nothing but a pair of dark boxers that, luckily, belonged to him and not his overweight cousin.

"Holy Salazar..."

Harry kept his eyes closed, not even wanting to see the expressions on the others' faces. If his eyes had been open, he would have seen Neville's shock, Luna's seriousness, and Draco's anger.

"Let me see your back," the blond practically demanded.

Sighing, somehow aware the Slytherin would force him to show his back, Harry just turned around in his seat, wincing at the painful jolt sent through his ribs. There was a sharp intake of breath and Harry knew why. His entire back was marred with scars. Barely an inch of skin had been left unmarked. The scars were all made by either a belt or a whip; Uncle Vernon's preferred choice of weapon.

"You can lie down," said Draco in a surprisingly soft voice.

Fighting to keep his magic under control, Harry did so. "Can you heal all that?"

Draco took a moment to answer, and there was a hint of fury in his voice when he did. "A simple spell will fix everything except your shoulder and wrist. The former I can set in place myself, but the latter will require a Skele-Grow."

Upon hearing that, Luna dug into her bag once more, this time pulling out a vial of the bone regrowing potion. "Here."

Shaking his head in what seemed to be exasperated amusement, Draco had her hang on to it for the moment. "I'm going to mend your bones first," he told Harry. When he got a nod, he placed the tip of his wand to Harry's nose, and in a clear voice, said, "Episkey."

Harry fought back a flinch at the feel of his nose mending, and didn't react at all when Draco fixed the rest of his bones. It hurt far more when they had been broken anyway.

"You're shoulder's next," said Draco.

Harry just nodded, remaining still, when the blond gripped his arm and shoulder. He bit down on his lip, but didn't cry out as his dislocated shoulder was set back in place. Releasing a breath, he fought back a flinch when Luna began applying the Bruise Salve. He wouldn't have been able to do it himself what with his wrist and all. When the blonde was done, Draco spelled Harry's clothes back on and told Luna to give him the Skele-Grow in order to fix his shattered wrist.

He choked at the disgusting taste, but forced the potion down his throat. He knew that it began working immediately, because his wrist began tingling. Suddenly feeling utterly exhausted, he slumped in his seat, and jolted when Luna pulled him down so his head was resting in her lap. Careful not to move his mending wrist, he sighed in content when his friend's fingers began running through his dark hair. Luna was the only one who could touch him like this. He always shied away when it was anyone else.

Draco and Neville also settled down, still across them, and all four were quiet for many long moments. Dark clouds started rolling in and it began drizzling out. It looked as if a large storm was approaching, and Harry smiled inwardly at how the weather seemed to be reflecting his mood...

*I didn't want his injuries to be too serious, but his magic is helping in anyway, right?

**And that's the end of this bit. Hope it's okay. I've already started on the next chapter, and I actually, surprisingly, know what I want to happen, so **_**hopefully**_** it won't take too long, but knowing me, who knows. I'm open to suggestions/ideas. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yo. I literally just finished this chapter, but since you guys are so awesome, I'm posting it now, instead of waiting until I finish dinner. I'm serious-my plate's right next to me. Also, I've read back through the previous chapters along with this one, and decided on adding another pairing in with the others. DMxLL. I have no idea how common it is, but I've never done it before, and I think, from what I already have, it'll work. Thank you to all readers so far.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...**

"What caused this sudden truce, Pot...Harry?" asked Draco rather suddenly, abruptly breaking the strangely comfortable silence.

Harry sighed as the betrayal returned to the forefront of his mind. "Draco, do you know what compulsions are? I have a suspicion, but I'd like to know for sure." Once again he was reminded of how little he truly knew. He was definitely going to have to change that soon.

A look of alarm crossed over Neville's face, and Draco frowned. Harry wasn't looking at Luna, so he couldn't see her expression.

"Compulsion charms can be considered similar to the Imperius curse," began Draco, "but they can only be cast by particularly powerful wizards. Basically, you're implanting a...suggestion in a person's mind, causing them to think, feel, or act in a specific manner."

Now Harry frowned. "So if someone put a compulsion on me to hate, say, anything Dark-?"

"Then you would act and feel and think that you hated anything and everything Dark, even if it were not true."

"Can they be broken or something?"

"A spell cast by the same wizard, or one of equal or more power, can break a compulsion, otherwise they simply wear off after a certain amount of time," explained the Malfoy. "The longest a compulsion can last is six months, and once that time is up, they begin to wear off on their own, and have to be recast."

Harry's frown deepened. "Is there any way to tell whether a compulsion's been cast on you?" he asked curiously, wincing ever so slightly as he felt a sharp sting in his mending wrist.

"There's a spell," replied Draco. "I don't know it though. But I know it creates a list of not only the compulsions on you at the time, but all the ones cast on you in the past."

"I see," muttered Harry, falling into thought. _I need some way to break the compulsions Dumbledore's going to place on me after the feast_. "Do you know anyone who _does_ know this spell? Someone you _really_ trust and is in the castle?"

"Professor Snape," said Draco immediately.

The black haired teen sighed again. While he didn't hate the man, Harry didn't quite trust him yet. Though, for whatever strange reason, he knew he could trust Draco, and if the blond trusted the Potions Master, then he could at least give it a shot, right? What was the worst that could happen? Either he would be handed over to Voldemort, who would probably kill him, or he would be taken to Dumbledore, who would just place more stupid spells on him and continue to send him back to the Dursleys, who would also probably kill him. It was the same thing either way, wasn't it? Though being killed by the Dark Lord was definitely less humiliating than being killed by his Muggle relatives.

"What happens when a person under compulsions finds out about said compulsions?" he asked finally.

The blond seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Normally, their magic begins to fight against them, and rather violently at that. It always ends in one of two ways though. Either the compulsions break, or they don't. I've noticed that people who have weaker magic can't seem to break them though."

There was another long pause. The indecisive drizzle from earlier had strengthened into a pouring rain, and lightning flashed in the distance, coming closer with every passing minute.

"Dumbledore is going to be placing compulsions on me after the feast," said Harry finally. "Apparently he's been doing it for a while, but I don't recall it at all, leading me to believe he's been Obliviating me too, probably since first year."

Luna's fingers stilled in his hair for a moment-the only sign she was displeased by what she had just heard. Draco gaped in a very unMalfoy like manner, and Neville just stared in shock.

"Why?" asked the timid Gryffindor.

"Honestly?" said Harry, glancing over at him briefly before focusing on the dark sky, "I'm not sure." He recounted the conversation he had overheard Weasley and Granger having, then said, "I guess maybe I was getting too rebellious or something? Though if this _has_ been happening since first year, I've no idea what I could have done to get him to place compulsions on me and and wipe my memories in the first place."

"Dumbledore is a master manipulator," said Draco. "I was warned against him more than once before beginning first year. Him doing this doesn't really shock me. And as for Weasley and Granger, frankly, I'm surprised, even though I know I shouldn't be."

Neville seemed shocked too, but his face was scrunched up in confusion, signalling that he was in deep thought. Neither he nor Luna said anything, but the blonde didn't seem to be very pleased either, though the only thing that gave that away was that her blue eyes were fully focused.

Thinking over what Weasley and Granger had said, Harry chuckled lightly, and when he received confused looks, decided to explain. "I really should have seen this coming. I mean-" he broke off, trying to figure out where to start and what to say. "When a Muggleborn gets their Hogwarts letter, they send someone to help them, right?"

The other three nodded. This was common sense, information that everyone knew.

"In some ways, I could count as a Muggleborn, at least in the regard that I knew nothing about magic. Yet Hagrid was the one sent to help me."

"Wait," interrupted the platinum haired teen, "they sent _Hagrid_ to get you? Was that why he was the one with you at Diagon Alley?"

Harry simply nodded. "Yeah. Now, it's not like I've got anything against him, but I don't think I'd send a prejudiced ex-student who was expelled in their third year, to explain the workings of the Wizarding world to an oblivious eleven year old."

"An eleven year old who just happened to have parents who were killed by not only a Slytherin, but the _same_ Slytherin who caused Hagrid's expulsion," stated Luna. While her voice was calm, it was not as serene as usual, signalling that she already knew what Harry was going to explain.

"That's what I mean when I say prejudiced," sighed Harry. "Hagrid made sure to tell me that the man who killed my parents was a Slytherin." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, then went on. "And then there's the platform. Hagrid just _happened_ to forget to tell me how to get onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters? How does that just happen?"

Draco frowned. "How did you get onto the platform then? Because I know you were on the train."

The green eyed teen looked over at him, the lightning from outside flashing in his eyes, creating a rather eerie look. "Actually, I was going to ask _you_ that. How do you guys normally get onto the platform?"

"I usually Side-Along Apparate with Gran, right onto the platform," replied Neville, confusion clear on his face.

"Daddy and I do the same," agreed Luna, "but sometimes we go through the barrier anyway. It helps keep away Nargles you know."

Draco stared at Luna incredulously for a moment, before being able to actually answer Harry himself. "We normally Apparate as well," he said. "Though if we're going in a bigger group, say with Pansy, Theodore, Blaise, etc..., we end up taking a Portkey. I've only been through the barrier once, and that was just because Mother stated everyone should experience it at least one time."

Harry inclined his head. "So you agree that it would be odd for a Pureblood family to go through the barrier at King's Cross?"

There was a chorus of, "Yes," through the compartment.

"I thought so."

"What are you talking about, Harry?" wondered Neville.

"The Weasleys were the ones to show me how to get through the barrier," explained the young saviour. "When I got to King's Cross, I realized I hadn't been told how to get onto the platform. I'd never even heard of it in the first place. When I asked someone, they just stared at me like I was an idiot, granted, it _was_ a Muggle." He sighed, wincing a little at the pins and needles sensation in his slowly mending wrist.

"Then I hear someone talking, loudly at that, about Muggles. It was Molly Weasley, along with Percy, the twins, Ron, and Ginny. Mrs Weasley was asking what the platform number was. It didn't seem odd to me at all at the time, since I was desperate to get to the train, but only recently I realized how strange it truly was. In my first year, Bill and Charlie had already graduated and left, Percy was in his fifth year, the twins their third, not to mention Mrs Weasley had attended Hogwarts herself many years before. Why would she be asking her children what the platform's name was?"

"Couldn't she just have been making sure Ron knew?" asked Neville.

"That was what I thought at first," Harry agreed, "but even Ron should have known the platform name by then, because of his older brothers. And besides, they were all magical, so they should have been able to get onto the platform directly, without going through the barrier. And on top of all that, Mrs Weasley's walking through King's Cross, practically screaming about Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and Muggles. Trust me when I say that there were a lot of Muggles staring at them."

"They were planted," stated Luna immediately.

When Draco and Neville stared on in confusion, Harry chuckled lightly, glad his blonde friend had understood. It didn't take the grey eyed teen much longer to pick up what they were talking about, but Neville still seemed unsure.

Deciding to explain, Harry focused on his Housemate. "I think Dumbledore told Hagrid not to tell me how to get onto the platform. I also think he planted the Weasleys there, with the intention of me overhearing them and asking what to do."

Neville frowned. "But, why would he do that?"

Harry smiled bitterly. "Is there a family out there more Light than the Weasleys? Because if there is, I've never heard of them. Hell, do you want to know _why_ I turned your hand of friendship down on that train ride, Draco?"

"Why?"

"Because Ronald Weasley told me that every Slytherin was evil. I'd been told that my parents' killer had been in Slytherin, so it made sense to my naive mind, and back when we first met in Madam Malkin's, you told me you wanted to be sorted into Slytherin."

"Oh," was all Draco said, clearly understanding. "What are you going to do about the compulsions?" he asked after a moment.

Harry closed his eyes as he fell into thought. "I was thinking," he began slowly, eyes still shut, "that I could meet you, Draco, somewhere at eleven, well after the feast. You could take me to see Snape, and he can take care of the compulsions."

"That's all fine and well," agreed the young Malfoy, "but if the old man places those compulsions on you, there's a chance he'll Obliviate you as well. Would you even _remember_ to meet with me, let alone be civil about it?"

Harry smiled a little, and opened his eyes again. "That's where Luna will come in." From her lap, he focused on his female friend's face. "The compulsions won't allow me to forget that we're friends. I would talk to you regardless. Just before eleven, you'll come to Gryffindor Tower." Now he looked at Neville. "Nev, you'll come to me to tell me that Luna's waiting outside the Tower for me, which will give me a valid reason to leave. I have a feeling Granger and Weasley will be...busy, so it's mainly for the benefit for others."

Draco seemed to have understood the plan. "So Lovegood will bring you to me, telling you to trust me. Since you trust her, you'll listen, even though you may be a little reluctant."

"Yes, exactly. Do you all agree?"

"Of course, Harry," replied Neville.

"Good." Green eyes fell shut once more. "Even after the compulsions are broken, I'll be doing some acting. Can't let Weasley and Granger, and most importantly, Dumbledore, know that something's changed. However, I wish to keep our new...friendship out in the open, Draco, if you're alright with that."

Draco, mind whirling, agreed without even thinking about it. Not very Slytherin, no, but he was curious to see what Po-Harry was going to do. "I think I'll head back to my compartment now," he said after a moment. "Will you allow me to tell Theo and Blaise about what's happened?"

Harry eyes opened quickly, pinning the platinum haired teen with a Killing Curse green. "Do you trust them?"

"They're the closest friends I have."

Harry stared at him for a long moment, judging him intently. "Very well." There was an extremely bright flash of lightning, causing his eyes to glow. "But if I hear anyone else speaking about_any_ of this, believe me when I say, you aren't going to like it."

Giving a rather stiff looking nod, Draco took down the privacy spells, and left the compartment.

When the Slytherin was gone, Harry untangled Luna's fingers from his hair, and pushed himself up, so he was sitting down instead. "There's something you're hiding from me, Neville," he stated abruptly.

Neville started, then hesitated. "I-it's just, I overheard something back in June, after-well, after the Ministry incident, but I thought it may have just been an inside joke or something. Now though, now I'm not really sure."

"What is it?" questioned Harry, something in his tone booking no nonsense. Luna was silent, but she was focused on the other Gryffindor as well, which Harry was glad for.

"I-I think Ginny's planning on feeding you a love potion."

Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Is that so?" he intoned slowly. "Explain, please."

Neville gave a rather jerky looking nod, surprised at how...different Harry was suddenly being. All these betrayals must have been affecting him more than they realized. "You were still in the hospital wing," he began, "and were asleep. I was-I was worried, and I wanted to make sure you were okay, so I came to see you. Hermione was in her own bed, and Ron and Ginny were with her. They were talking, saying how they needed to make sure you fell in love with Ginny, how you weren't paying enough attention to her. Then they were saying that maybe they should just start feeding you love potions. They said they would give you until October, and if you still didn't seem to be interested in Ginny..." he trailed off nervously.

Harry leaned back in his seat and pulled off his glasses to rub at his eyes. "I should have expected that," he muttered. "Thanks for letting me know, Nev."

"Yeah, no problem," replied the other boy, still looking rather hesitant. But he was watching his friend closely now, and seemed to be thinking about something. "Hey, Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear you parents' will yet?"

Replacing his glasses, Harry opened his eyes. "No, I haven't. Why?"

Neville frowned. "So your magical guardian didn't take you to hear it when you were eleven?"

Harry just blinked in confusion. "No, and what's a magical guardian?"

"You-you don't know?"

The green eyed teen shook his head, a frown of his own appearing on his face. "I don't know much about the Wizarding World at all," he admitted, "beyond what we learn at Hogwarts."

"You're going to change that though, aren't you, Harry?" asked Luna, though it was more a statement than a question.

"Yes," he agreed anyway. "I'm sorry, Neville, what were you saying before? What exactly is a magical guardian?"

"Well, normally your parents are your magical guardians, but Muggleborns and well, orphans need to have a designated guardian, either because their parents are Muggles or dead. Usually parents leave the name of future guardians, like godparents, in their wills. Gran's my magical guardian, for example, because my parents, while still alive, are, well..." He broke off, then went on. "The Headmaster or Mistress automatically becomes the magical guardian of any Muggleborns and orphans-unless they have another one, and they're supposed to fill in the Muggle guardians with everything that's happening. I'll use Hermione as another example. She's a Muggleborn, which means the Headmaster is her magical guardian, but he's been making sure her parents are aware of what's been going on, which is needed by law."

Harry froze, immediately realizing what that meant. Dumbledore _was his magical guardian! He_ had _to be! He was an orphan, and though Sirius had been his godfather, he hadn't really ever been able to do anything legal for him except sign his Hogsmeade form...which _Dumbledore_ had been the one to accept! The old man had never told him this. Had never even once mentioned..._ "If the Headmaster is my magical guardian, was he supposed to make sure I heard my parents' will?"

Neville and surprisingly, Luna, both nodded immediately, though it was the other Gryffindor who answered verbally. "When you turned eleven, he, not Hagrid should have been the one to not only tell you about this world, but accompany you to Diagon Alley, mainly because you had the legal right, even at that age, to hear about your parents. He _could_ have sent a proxy, but that person should have done the same thing. Clearly that wasn't the case."

"Sirius was my godfather though."

"Yes," Neville agreed, "and that would have also made him your magical guardian, but because he was sent to Azkaban, that made him unable to remain your guardian. If he had ever been claimed innocent, then that decision would have been reversed, making him your guardian once more." He sighed. "This is why you need to hear your parents' will. They may have decided on more guardians for you, other than your godfather."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, noting his mending wrist wasn't hurting as much any more. "Merlin, okay, so is Dumbledore going to remain my guardian until I turn seventeen?"

"Actually...if you claim your Lordship, then you will be considered of age, and won't need a guardian any more."

Now Harry just looked confused. "Lordship?"

Neville frowned. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you don't know about this either." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Gran's got this book about all this Pureblood stuff, I'll ask her if you can borrow it. It'll be easier than me trying to explain everything anyway."

"I'd appreciate that, Nev."

"Of course."

There was a momentary silence where the three teens all watched the rain hit the compartment window. Lightning continued to flash outside, and the booming thunder echoed almost eerily...

**The letter will be in the next chapter. I promise! Oh, and there's a reason why Harry didn't have Draco make a vow to keep quiet-it'll be explained eventually. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yo. I forgot to mention this last time, but I'm on AO3 now-check my profile for details, though there isn't much to say yet. Anyway, sorry this took so long, but I promised the first letter would be in this chapter, and I wanted to hold to that, but it also meant I had to do the meetings with Dumbledore and Snape as well, which meant a crap load of writing on my part. I also finally finished reading Naruto, which meant I absolutely had to check out the fics for my ships, which ended up in me having ideas for my own and all that stuff. Okay, done with my excuses now. Thank you to all readers so far!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...**

When Weasley and Granger returned to the compartment, they didn't seem too pleased to see Harry awake and conversing with Neville and Luna. Just like how they didn't seem to like how close Harry and Luna seemed to be seated next to each other. That was made even more obvious when Ginny popped in and attempted to squeeze in between them, and Harry pulled Luna closer instead. The redhead pouted in what she clearly seemed to think was a cute manner, but which really made her look quite foolish.

Since she couldn't sit next to him, Ginny then spent the rest of the train ride blatantly flirting with him. Harry found the entire thing very annoying, but was spending more time thinking, than paying attention to what was going on around him. He was going to hold Neville into getting that book about all the Pureblood related things, and he also needed to get to Gringotts at some point. Then there was also the whole 'love potion' thing that he needed to deal with. He had about a month before Ginny started feeding those to him. He had to figure out how to nullify its affects...

When they reached Hogsmeade station, the six teens got into a carriage together, Harry making sure to pet the Thestral pulling it first. The ride was uneventful and slightly awkward, as Harry was reluctant to speak, too lost in his thoughts, and Granger and the two Weasleys were ignoring Neville and Luna as they went on with their own boring conversation that they kept trying to bring Harry into.

Stepping out of the carriage, Harry made eye contact with Draco, and they exchanged a barely perceptible nod, before heading into Hogwarts castle, and walking to their House tables in the Great Hall, two of the five Gryffindors saying their farewells to the Ravenclaw.

Neville was about to sit down next to Harry when he was blocked by the Weasleys and Granger. The two girls took seats on either side of the green eyed teen, and the male Weasley sat down directly across him. Neville hid a frown and sat down next to Weasley, and across Granger, pretending like he hadn't noticed anything. Now that he knew what the three were really like, he was beginning to remember all the things Weasley and Granger did, that really could be considered odd. Ensuring no one but them sat next to Harry was only one of them...

Harry, irritated by Granger and the only female Weasley child trapping him between them, focused on the Head Table, trying to see if there was anyone new. Umbridge, thank Merlin, was gone, which meant they needed to have a new DADA professor. The thing was, the only new person there, wasn't exactly _new_ to him at all.

"What the hell is _Malfoy's dad _doing up there?" demanded Ron Weasley immediately.

"I'm not sure," replied Granger with a frown. "The Headmaster didn't mention this."

"Well he _should_ have!" exclaimed the youngest Weasley indignantly.

Harry and Neville exchanged a look of confusion, before the day younger teen glanced over at Draco, who was seated at the Slytherin table. Harry shot the platinum haired teen a questioning look, and he received a half shrug in return, something in Draco's expression telling him that he hadn't known about his father likely being the new Defence professor either. How strange. Did Voldemort have something to do with this?

Before anyone could say or even think any further, McGonagall entered the Hall, followed by a line of first years, less than usual actually. They all came to a stop near the stool holding the Sorting Hat, and a moment later, said Hat began to sing... While Harry watched the Sorting, he noticed something a little strange. Was it just him, or was Dumbledore glancing his way a little _too_ often?

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly, before his focus returned to the Sorting. The old man was probably trying to figure out whether he was about to start rebelling against him or something. Well, the Headmaster was definitely in for a surprise...

The rest of the feast went by fairly normally, and by the end of it, Harry was more than a little irritated. He felt so trapped sitting at the table, and couldn't wait until he could just get up. Also, despite the short nap he had taken on the train, he still felt very tired, but had a feeling all the healing his body was doing was probably the cause of it.

It felt like hours before Dumbledore finally dismissed them, and Harry was quick to get to his feet. Weasley and Granger couldn't follow him, since they had to deal with the first year Gryffindors, but the youngest Weasley was still clinging to him. Neville walked on his other side, but didn't get to say a word to him because the girl just wouldn't shut up.

"Oh! Mione told me the password!" she exclaimed when they were standing outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. "_Persona_."

"Welcome back, dearies," greeted the Fat Lady, swinging open.

Harry raised a brow, recognizing the word immediately. "_Persona_?" he questioned, quiet enough that only the portrait heard him.

The Fat Lady smiled at him. "Oh yes, dear. Violet and I were brainstorming passwords, and we both think this one is quite fitting, for you at least."

"So you know then?"

Her smiled widened. "We all know more than we let on. Vi and I are on your side, Harry dear. You'll put real fear in that blasted Headmaster. We know you will."

The teen couldn't help but laugh at that. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, dear Lady. Good night." He climbed through the portrait hole, and entered the Gryffindor Common Room. It was packed with students of all years, most of whom were lounging about, speaking to the friends they hadn't seen all summer. Some of the students had already gone up to their dorms, Ginny Weasley included, it seemed.

Neville, who seemed to notice who Harry was looking for, spoke. "Ginny went up with some of her friends while you were talking to the Fat Lady. ...What was all that about, anyway?"

Harry, glad Weaslyette, as Draco often called her, was gone, focused on his friend. "The password. We were talking about the password. It seems the Fat Lady is already aware of what I'll be doing this year, and she supports me fully."

Neville blinked in surprise, and then laughed. "Well that's good to know!" He sobered quickly though. "Shouldn't Dumbledore be calling you to his office soon?"

The green eyed teen looked around to see if anyone was approaching him. "Yeah, they said it'd be after the feast. Do you remember the plan?"

"Yes, sir!"

Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. That smile however, was quickly wiped off his face when he saw the youngest Weasley come back down from her dorm, and begin to walk over to him.

"Harry! I forgot to tell you! Headmaster Dumbledore said he wanted to see you after the feast!"

Said teen frowned, pretending to be in thought. "I wonder what he wants..."

"Well? Go see him!" replied the girl, not really answering his question at all, even though she obviously knew why...

* * *

Harry stood in front of the Gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office, a scowl on his face. He knew he had no choice but to ascend the staircase, but prayed his earlier plan would work. If it didn't, well he didn't want to think about what he would end up doing under the old man's influence.

When in front of the Headmaster's office, he knocked on the door, trying his best to empty out his mind like Snape used to tell him to do. If the old man got even an _inkling_ of what he was planning...

"Come in, dear boy!"

Trying not to roll his eyes, Harry pushed the door open and stepped into the strangely decorated office. It looked pretty much the same as always, but he noticed that the things he had destroyed in his fury the previous year had not been repaired. At least, that was what he was assuming, since he couldn't see them. It was oddly...satisfying, actually.

Dumbledore was seated behind his desk, his eyes twinkling, a smile on his face. It took all of Harry's willpower to ensure he didn't lash out at him again. Instead, he tried his best to look at bit embarrassed. Considering his behaviour the last time he had seen Dumbledore, it would be expected.

"Come, have a seat, Harry."

Harry did so, keeping the embarrassed, hesitant look on his face. He glanced around the room, as if he were stalling, and made note of which portrait people were watching him, and which frames seemed to be empty. When Fawkes the phoenix flew off his perch and landed on his knees, he couldn't help but smile a little as he stroked the beautiful plumage. "Hullo, Fawkes," he murmured.

The phoenix trilled in response, and nuzzled the hand petting him. _"I am here to help you, Harry."_

Harry blinked. _"Fawkes?" _he thought hesitantly, because he was pretty sure he had just heard someone speaking to him in his mind.

_"Yes, child, it is me. Your mind was blocking me before, so I could not speak to you. The recent change in you however, has gotten rid of the block, enabling us to speak to one another."_

Very confused, Harry just said, _"You said you were here to help me. What did you mean by that?"_

Fawkes trilled again. _"We can converse properly later, as I realize you do not have much time at the moment. Just know that you need not worry about the compulsions and obliviates the Headmaster is about to place on you. I will nullify them before they touch you. All you must do, is pretend as if they have affected you."_

_"I'm going to hold you to that conversation later, Fawkes, because I'm really confused right now. But if you can help, without Dumbledore finding out what's going on, then I'm open to it."_

_"Very good, child."_

"I see Fawkes is glad to see you again," smiled Dumbledore.

"Yeah," agreed Harry, keeping what the phoenix said in mind.

It was suddenly, and without warning, that Harry found he couldn't move. His green eyes locked onto the Headmaster in surprise and confusion, while mentally, he told himself to calm down. Fawkes seemed to be thinking the same thing, for-

_"Calm yourself, little one. It is merely a Petrification charm."_

_"Petrification? Petrificus Totalus?"_

_"Yes. He needs you to remain still, and does not think you can break through this. He will force you to take a Calming Draught now, and will then begin placing the compulsions, before Obliviating this meeting."_

"So sorry, dear boy, but I need you to drink this now, and I know you will never do it yourself." Dumbledore began preparing a cup of tea, adding in quite a bit of Calming Draught into it. He then waved his wand in a strange, complex pattern, and the liquid rose out of the cup and was directed towards, then into Harry's stomach.

Harry felt the potion take effect immediately, and barely noticed the Petrification charm be removed. Fawkes remained on his knees, and the Headmaster didn't seem to find that strange at all, which was probably a good thing.

"Now then." Dumbledore got to his feet, wand in hand and focused on the drugged teen. And drugged was definitely the correct term, because the Headmaster had given him far too much of the potion than necessary.

The old man began chanting in Latin, saying words Harry had never head before, and had no way of understanding. However a strange feeling _did_ come over him. It was both like and unlike being under the Imperious Curse, he noted, feeling oddly fuzzy in the head. ...Or maybe he'd been infested with Wrackspurts. Who knew?

Before Harry could dwell on this, the feeling vanished, abruptly leaving him feeling completely normal. The effects of the Calming Draught were gone too.

_"I have nullified the effects of the potion and the spell, but you must continue to behave as if you are still under the influence of both," _said Fawkes.

_"Okay." _So Harry allowed himself to remain limp, forced his eyes to stay unfocused.

Dumbledore, not noticing a thing, began stating orders now.

Unfortunately, because they too were in Latin, the teen was barely able to understand them. He kept the confusion out of his eyes, and hoped Fawkes would be willing to translate, making a mental note to brush up on the language as well. Considering all their spells were in Latin, it was probably a good idea.

"Do you understand, Harry James Potter?"

_"Yes."_

"Yes," repeated the teen in a monotone voice.

"Good. _Obliviate_!"

Harry forced his eyes to glaze over, something far easier said than done.

Dumbledore flicked his wand, a cheerful smile returning to his aged face. "You're looking tired, dear boy. Why don't you head up to bed now? Classes start bright and early! Oh, one more thing. I'd like to give you some private lessons this year-"

But Harry was barely listening, choosing to focus on the phoenix on his lap instead, who was telling him what the compulsions were supposed to make him do, though he made sure to ask the Headmaster the expected questions, needing to stay in character.

_"Listen carefully, young one. 'You will obey and listen to the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will obey and listen to the Order of the Phoenix. You will sacrifice yourself for the Light. The Dark is evil and wrong. You will despise the Dark Lord and do whatever you must to fight against him. Slytherins are your enemy. You will listen to your friends.' This is the gist of what you are being spelled to do. The compulsions and the obliviate will not affect you, but I pray you have a plan."_

_"I do, Fawkes. Don't worry. And thanks!"_

_"It was nothing, child."_

Refocusing on the Headmaster, Harry allowed himself to yawn. "Alright then..." He ran his fingers through the phoenix's stunning plumage, before the large bird flew off his knees and back to his perch. Getting to his feet, the teen approached the door and opened it. Then, glancing over his shoulder at the Headmaster, wished him an awkward sounding good night. Just as would be expected.

"Good night, Harry!"

The moment the door shut behind him, a rather vicious look appeared on Harry's face. He had been hoping that his guess about this betrayal had been wrong. That Dumbledore was just going to ask him if he was alright after all that had occurred a few months back. But the old man hadn't mentioned the Ministry, or Sirius, or even the prophecy.

Harry frowned, recalling Fawkes translations, then smirked when he realized just how many loopholes old Dumbledore had left in those orders. He was going to have so much fun with this...

* * *

When Harry returned to Gryffindor common room, he found that it was mostly empty. Very few of the other students were still around, most still tiredly chatting with friends. The two Weasleys and Granger were there too, likely waiting for him. Neville, as they had planned before, was there as well, pretending to look for his pet toad Trevor.

"Harry!" Weasleyette was the first to spot him, and wave him over.

Hiding a scowl, the green eyed teen approached, deliberately yawning. "Hey," he greeted, making sure his voice sounded tired, not that he needed to fake it all that much.

"How'd the meeting with the Headmaster go?" asked Granger.

"What'd he want?" piped Weasley from her side.

No doubt they already knew, but Harry, yawning once again, answered anyway. "Dumbledore wants to give me private lessons."

"That's _Headmaster_ Dumbledore," Granger corrected.

"Really?" said Weasley, sounding excited.

"Yeah," nodded Harry, yawning again.

They chatted for a few minutes, until Weasleyette excused herself to head to bed, and Granger and Weasley busied themselves by twining together in an armchair and, well, no detail needed. Harry just sat there, waiting for the next part of his plan. And sure enough-

"Hey, Harry?"

Said teen glanced over, only to see the shyest Lion standing next to his chair. "Hey, Nev? Still up?"

Neville sighed. "Yeah, Trevor got away again. Anyway, Luna's outside the Tower. She's asking for you."

Harry frowned. "Luna? That's weird. What's she doing here?" He was quick to get to his feet. "Hope everything's okay," he murmured. "Thanks, Nev."

"Yeah, sure thing," replied the young Longbottom, a worried look on his face. On the inside however, he was grinning. Harry's plan was working perfectly so far. It didn't look like the compulsions had affected him either. He had seen that in his friends' eyes. Glancing over at Weasley and Granger, who were still locked in a rather-erm, passionate embrace, he sneered inwardly and walked away. Time for bed. Harry wasn't going to need him until morning...

Exiting the Lion's tower, Harry found Luna outside, staring into space rather dreamily, not that that was surprising or anything.

"Hello again, Harry," she greeted before he could even open his mouth.

"Hey Luna."

The girl focused on him and regarded him rather carefully. "The compulsions didn't affect you, and your memories haven't been tampered with either," she stated.

Taking the girl's hand, Harry began making his way down to the dungeon classroom where they had agreed to meet Draco. While walking, he explained what Fawkes had said and done, keeping his voice down, wary of the many portrait people. Luna spoke when she felt it was needed, but agreed with the many loopholes Harry was going to be able to use. She also seemed very glad to hear about the phoenix, though it was difficult to tell whether she had already known about the bird or not. Knowing Luna, well...

The dungeons were empty, and the two teens hurried to the classroom Draco was, hopefully, waiting in. They needed to get to Snape, and there was no way the man was going to to bother listening to them without his godson being there. Especially considering how much he seemed to hate Harry.

"About time," muttered Draco, the moment the Lion and Eagle stepped into the room. He frowned, staring at Harry. "Since you aren't freaking out, I'm assuming the old coot either didn't do anything, or..." he trailed off.

Half wishing he hadn't already said it all to Luna, Harry explained what had happened for a second time. Draco listened, brow raising higher with every word.

"Wait, the old man's _phoenix_ helped you?" he questioned incredulously.

"Yeah. Anyway, what's your father doing here? As the new DADA professor no less?"

The platinum haired teen shrugged. "No idea," he replied. "Father didn't tell me anything at all, just that he would see me sooner than I thought."

Luna suddenly giggled lightly. "You're pouting, Draco," she stated.

Said teen flushed slightly. "No I'm not!" he retorted, clearly trying to school his features back to nonchalance.

Harry rolled her eyes despite his mild amusement. A moment later, he sighed. "Can we see Snape now? I'd prefer to get this over with." And of course he would, since he would be finding out just all those old compulsions were making him do over the years. Had he really been dealing with them since first year? Were Weasley and Granger _ever_ his friends?

* * *

Severus Snape was tired, and was definitely not looking forward to the beginning of the school year. He had only been here for the staff meeting and the Welcoming Feast so far, and he was already exhausted. Albus Dumbledore, contrary to popular belief, was _not_ an easy man to deal with. He had far too many expectations, and Severus was not sure he would be able to deal with it any more.

Ready to strip down and crawl into bed, the dour man cursed viciously when he heard a knock on the door to his quarters. Yanking the door open, his snarl vanished when he saw Draco standing outside, along with, none other than Potter and Lovegood. Surprisingly, it didn't look like they had been in any sort of argument or fight.

"Yes?" he asked, his godson's presence the only thing keeping him from losing his temper.

"Can we come in, Uncle Severus? There's something really important we need to talk to you about."

Severus raised a brow, but inclined his head in acquiesce, and stepped back, allowing the three students in. Closing the door behind them, he crossed his long arms over his chest. "Well?"

Draco and Lovegood focused on Potter, showing the professor that the Gryffindor seemed to be the main focus here. ...How unfortunate...

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, wondering where to begin. No matter how much his new friend trusted him, this was still Snape they were talking to here. "Um, well..." When Luna, his pseudo sister, took his hand, Harry allowed himself to calm and finally begin to say what he had come to say...for the _third_ time that night.

Snape still had his arms crossed, and an expression of irritation on his face, but he seemed to be listening intently to what was being said. Harry had no idea what was going through the man's mind, and opted to continue speaking instead, praying Draco's trust in him was enough and that Snape would at least bother helping him without telling Dumbledore anything.

There was a long and rather awkward silence when Harry finished speaking. Snape just stared at him with those bottomless black eyes, as if he were trying to gauge his truthfulness. The green eyed teen just stared back. Snape could look all he wanted, there was no lie to be found in what he had just been told. Harry was being as honest as he could in these circumstances.

The man sighed suddenly, and raised a hand to rub his brow. "I should have expected this," he muttered to himself. "Sit," he commanded abruptly.

The three teens did so, Harry and Luna together on a couch, and Draco and Snape in separate armchairs. Silence reigned for another few moments, before the professor finally decided to speak.

"I suppose I should not be surprised that you have come to me, Potter. Though I assume this is only because of Draco."

Wanting to be polite to the man for the first time in, well, years, Harry just said, "Yes sir. I want to know about these compulsions Dumbledore has been placing on me, and according to Draco, you're the only person here he trusts. Oh, I guess he trusts his father too..."

Snape stared again, then sighed once more. "I will help you," he stated, in a firm tone.

"Without telling the Headmaster?" asked Luna from her seat next to Harry.

The Potions Master inclined his head once in conformation. He then got to his feet and pulled out his wand. "Come, Potter. Stand up in front of me. I will check for those spells now."

Harry hesitated, Occlumency lessons from the previous year flashing through his mind. Knowing he didn't have any other choice, he too stood up, making sure he was directly across the man. He was aching to grab his wand, but resisted the urge.

Snape, wand pointed at the bane of his existence, began chanting a steady stream of Latin spells. Harry stood there, trying to ignore the strange...invasive feeling he was getting. It wasn't really his mind, like if Snape were using Legilimency. It was more like his entire body. Harry doubted he could explain it if someone asked him.

A sheet of parchment appeared next to Snape, like it did with Madam Pomfrey when she was doing diagnostic scans. Words formed on it on their own, and the parchment extended the longer Snape chanted. Harry couldn't see what was written on it, since it wasn't facing him, but he couldn't deny how curious he was about what was being written on it.

Finally, after many long minutes, Snape stopped chanting and lowered his wand, plucking the parchment out of the air as he did so. "You may sit," he told Harry, who did as told. The Potions Master sat back down too, and quickly read over the list in his hand. Sighing deeply, he handed the parchment to Harry, watching him closely.

Ignoring the way Snape was staring at him, Harry began to read, expression not only darkening, but becoming far more dangerous the more he read. His magic suddenly erupted out of him, twisting and turning around his body, visibly vicious. His eyes glowed like the very curse that had brought him all this pain.

Harry, irises locked on the parchment, didn't even notice what was happening with his magic. Nor did he see the way Snape and Draco were staring at him. Luna was the only one who didn't seem surprised by the manifestation of Harry's magic. Serenely, she reached out and placed a hand on her "brother's" shoulder.

Immediately, Harry calmed, unconsciously reigning his magic back in. He leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes, his expression had closed off. "I was first Obliviated when I was five, Moon."

Luna blinked, surprise actually visible on her face. "He knew?"

"Looks like it." Handing the parchment to Luna, Harry balled his hands into fists, attempting to resist the urge to hit something. _The old man knew what the Dursleys have been doing. He _knows_. Obliviating me at five years old proves it_. Harry took another deep breath and thought through the list he had just read.

While the first memory charm had been placed on him when he was five, the first compulsions hadn't been put in place until he started at Hogwarts. They were actually pretty much the same as the ones that Dumbledore had placed on him earlier, just more specific:

Obey and listen to the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
Obey, listen and be loyal to Albus Dumbledore  
Sacrifice yourself for the Light  
Fight against the Dark  
Despise the Dark Lord Voldemort and do whatever it may take to fight him  
Listen and be loyal to Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny Weasley (Percy was on the list too, until he deserted the family)  
Listen and be loyal to Hermione Granger  
Obey and listen to the Order of the Phoenix  
All Slytherins are your enemy  
You will listen to your friends  
Do not listen to Sirius Black  
Do not listen to Remus Lupin  
Never question anything.

And so on an so forth. Some things were added over the years, others were taken away, but the main point of the compulsions remained the same throughout. In fact, it seemed this years were not only the fewest, but also the least specific.

Harry pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked at Snape, who was still watching him closely. "Did you know?"

"I did not," replied the man. "...You are changing your place in the war?" It was more statement than question.

"Yes. I'm no longer fighting for the Light, but I'm not on the Dark side either. For now, I prefer to be neutral, but I'll be pretending otherwise."

The professor inclined his head in understanding. "Then I will help."

Harry blinked, then his eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I cannot say."

"Then how can I trust you?"

"You cannot."

Harry sighed. "Alright." He got to his feet. "Thanks for the help, sir, but I think Luna and I should head to bed now."

"Very well." Snape and Draco got up too, all of them heading to the door. The Lion and Eagle were just about to leave, when the Potions Master stopped them. "Harry."

Surprised at being called by his first name, the teen turned to look at the professor who had always hated him so much. "Yes?"

"Come to me if you need help."

Harry smiled just a little bit. "Sure thing, sir!"

Then, further surprising them, Snape chuckled. "Get to bed, brats."

"Good night!"

* * *

When Harry woke the next morning, he prayed everything that had occurred the day before had just been a bad dream, a nightmare. But when he caught a glimpse of Ron Weasley's sneering face, he knew it wasn't so. Sighing deeply, he slid out of bed and got dressed, the two Weasleys and Granger dragging him down to the Great Hall almost immediately after.

Trapped between the two girls again, Harry fought to keep the irritation off his face, lest Weasley, who was stuffing his face across him, notice. Harry ate in silence, despite not really feeling hungry, wishing he could speak to Neville who, once again, had been unable to sit next to him. They exchanged glances every now and again, but didn't say anything to one another.

When the morning post arrived, Harry didn't even bother looking up, not expecting to receive anything at all. Sirius had been the only one who wrote to him, and now that he was-was gone, well, Harry knew he was going to miss his godfather's letters. He hadn't heard from Remus yet either, which hurt. A lot.

Harry was pulled out of his depressing thoughts when a large bird landed next to his nearly empty plate. It was a stunning creature, with beautiful white and black plumage.

"Is that a gyrfalcon?" questioned Granger. "Why did it land here? Does it have a letter? Who is it from?"

Blinking and pulling his gaze away from the bird's dark eyes, Harry looked down and noted that the gyrfalcon was indeed carrying a letter. One addressed to him. Shrugging away the questions, he took the rolled parchment and fed the magnificent creature what was left of his toast. He stoked its breast and watched it fly off out of sight.

Wanting to examine the letter, but unwilling to do so under the scrutiny of so many people, Harry wasn't quite sure what to do. Granger and Weasleyette both made swipes for the parchment, but Harry quickly placed it into the relative safety of his pocket, knowing he would get back to it the moment he had the chance.

And that chance arrived faster than expected because just moments later, the four Heads of Houses began handing out timetables. Granger dragged everyone in the vicinity into a conversation about what courses they may have, and how many OWLs they had managed to achieve.

Seeing the attention was no longer focused on him, Harry pulled the letter out of his pocket, unrolled it, and began to read...

_Dearest Harry,_

_I realize you must be anxious to begin the first lessons of the year, but I cannot wait any longer to express to you how I feel. I find myself wondering whether anyone sees you the way I do. You're so strong, so beautiful, though you hide yourself behind an intricate mask. I wonder what lies beneath it?_

_I know you, little Lion, but not as much as I would like. It isn't enough, and I wish to learn more about you. I know you enjoy Quidditch and play the part of Seeker on your House team. I know you have a soft spot for your lovely snowy owl too. I know you excel at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I know you have the habit of getting involved in the strangest of situations. What about you do I not yet know? Will you tell me?_

_You are wary, no doubt, about a stranger writing to you, no? I cannot, at the moment, reveal my name to you, but allow me to tell you something about myself. I am a man, one who is older than you. I attended Hogwarts in my youth, and did quite well there too. I was sorted into Slytherin House, though I hope you will not hold that against me. I have a soft spot for my own pets as well, and was never very fond of Quidditch._

_I'm afraid this is all I can say to you at the moment. I hope you will give in to your curiosity and write back to me. Enjoy your first day back, little one._

_Eternally yours,_

_M_

**Ha! I told you I'd get the letter in! Anyway, Severus and Lucius' roles will be revealed in time, so be patient with that. Don't ask why Lucius is DADA professor-I came up with it on the spot, and don't know why yet. It'll come to me eventually. I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written, ever, so forgive any mistakes. I went through it, but I may have missed something. Dunno when the next chapter'll be up, but _A Welcome Indeed_ should be the next thing I update, so keep an eye out for that. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yo. Christ, has it really been that long since the last update? Damn, I don't think this chapter will make up for that. I'm so glad you guys liked M's letter, because that was the very first love letter I've ever written. This chapter's mainly just...establishing what's happening, I guess? Thank you to all readers so far!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...**

Harry stared at the parchment in his hands, unsure of what to think. Was this some sort of cruel joke or something? Cause this definitely sounded like a bleeding love letter, and he had _never _gotten one of those before. Ever. Glancing around the Great Hall to check if someone was watching him, he shoved it back into his pocket just as McGonagall approached.

He listened as the professor rattled off what courses he had been cleared to take, before accepting his timetable and examining it. When he saw he had Potions class, his eyes widened, and then narrowed. Harry _knew_ he had only gotten an E on his Potion's OWL, just as he knew Snape _never_ took NEWT students who received anything lower than an O on their OWLs, which meant-

He glanced up at Dumbledore, scowling inwardly when he saw the old man smiling cheerfully. Interfering bastard.

What was his reasoning though? Why Potions? Because of the whole Auror thing? Was that it? Why was Dumbledore so fixated on him becoming an Auror? Why did it matter to him?

"What do you have first, Harry?" asked Ginny Weasley from next to him, leaning in far too close and invading his personal space.

Harry clenched his teeth, fighting not to wrinkle his nose at the strong floral scent. "A free period." When she made a questioning sound, he ignored her, aware where this was leading and wanting no part in it.

"Well then, Harry, maybe you could walk me t-"

"I should go talk to Snape," he interrupted, pretending as if he hadn't heard her.

The Weasley seated across him stared. "Why would you want to talk to the Bat?" he questioned, eyes wide with disbelief.

The green eyed teen raised a brow. "I have Potions," he told his 'friend', "and I shouldn't."

That seemed to draw Granger's attention, because she turned to him immediately. "What?"

"I have Potions," he repeated, "but I only got an E in OWLs. I guess Dumbledore got me in or something."

"_Professor_ Dumbledore," the girl stressed. "Well, yes, I suppose you should go speak to Professor Snape, especially since you didn't do the homework. I don't want Gryffindor losing points on the first day."

_Since when did you care so much about House points?_ Nodding in agreement, Harry looked up to the Staff Table, then, when he didn't see the Potions Master, over at the Slytherins. Snape was nowhere to be found, so he got to his feet. "Might as well do this now."

"I'll see you in the common room then!" called Weasley suddenly. "I've got a free period too!"

Harry shot him a grin over his shoulder that vanished the moment he looked in front again. He should have expected he would end up stuck with Weasley. They had chosen to take the same classes their third year for that very reason, though he was finally beginning to regret it. While Care of Magical Creatures had been okay, sort of, Divination had been a waste of time, and in any case, he wasn't taking either of them this year.

Speaking of wasting time, wasn't he going to be doing that with all the free periods he had? In fact, just today he had _three_ of them! He already knew he was actually going to being trying when it came to his classes, and he knew that wasn't going to be all that hard to do. Harry was smart, and he was fully aware of that. It was only because of the Dursleys' reactions, and Granger's jealously that he had never bothered, but now? Now, he didn't care.

Harry knew that if he tried, his grades would rise easily, and he wouldn't even need all those free periods to catch up on his work. But neither was he planning on using them for sitting around and doing nothing, like Weasley, no doubt, would. So what then? Well, he had already decided to brush up on his Latin, hadn't he? That was one thing he could use that time for. What else?

_Occlumency_, he realized. He was terrible at it, and he couldn't avoid Dumbledore's gaze forever. This was something he needed-_had_ to learn. Snape was the best bet for that, but Harry was reluctant to ask him for help. Not after what had taken place last year. Not after Sirius. Maybe there were some books on the subject in the library? He hadn't bothered last time, but it couldn't hurt to look. If it got to a point where he couldn't do anything on this himself, then he would give in and ask Snape for some help. But until then, he would try to learn this on his own.

Harry pulled himself out of his thoughts when he reached the Potion's classroom. Lessons were going to begin soon, so it was very likely that the man was in there, rather than his office or personal quarters. The door was open, and he poked his head through, spotting Snape seated behind his desk. He knocked on the door frame.

"Enter."

Harry stepped in, trying to push away the perpetual nervousness he always seemed to feel around the man. "Professor?"

The man looked up. "Mr Potter," he said rather neutrally, glancing around to ensure they were alone.

"I uh, well, I just got my timetable, and noticed I have Potions this year," explained Harry as he walked over to the large desk.

A look of surprise flickered across Snape's face. "I was under the impression that you received an E in your OWLs."

"I did," replied the green eyed teen, "but it seems like the Headmaster _really _wants me to become an Auror, and approved me for your class regardless."

Snape scowled, clearly not pleased, but then he rubbed his temples with a sigh. "Very well. It seems I have no choice but to accept this. You will attend class as decided, and may share a textbook and ingredients until you get your own. I expect you to place an order immediately."

_He probably realized arguing with Dumbledore about this won't get him anywhere. _"Yes sir," nodded Harry. He had a letter to reply to anyway, so he figured he may as well kill two birds with one stone, and get them done at the same time.

Leaving the dungeon classroom, the teen headed up to the Owlery, a little surprised by how...civilized the conversation he'd just had with Snape had been. He had assumed that the discussion from the previous night had gone the way it had, because of Draco being present. The fact that he and the professor had managed to speak without cursing one another or even raising their voices was astounding indeed.

He frowned slightly. Whose side was Snape on? Everyone thought he was a Death Eater, which was technically true, but he was also a member of the Order, because he was a spy, right? Voldemort thought Snape was on his side, and Dumbledore thought he was on his. But did anyone really know for _sure_? What if the man wasn't on either side? Or what if he was double-rather, triple agent? There really was no telling.

He ceased his pondering when he reached the Owlery, and peered around for Hedwig, just to make sure she was there. Spotting her white feathers immediately, he sighed softly, used a quick cleaning charm on a spot on the floor by the back wall near the window, and sank down, pulling parchment, a quill, and ink out of his bag.

Harry first wrote a quick letter to the owner of Flourish and Blotts and the Apothecary, requesting the required textbook and ingredients, along with how they could get the money from the Goblins and his vault. With that task quickly accomplished, he had to turn his attention back to the...love letter he had received earlier.

Frowning, he pulled it out to read through again. How could he possibly respond to this? What should he say? _Should_ he even reply? It would be rather rude if he didn't, right? But, did he want to encourage any of this? He scanned it again.

The writer was a male, and there must have been quite an age gap between them, judging by his choice in wording. He had attended Hogwarts, and had been a Slytherin. He didn't like Quidditch, and had more than one pet. He seemed to only know what the general public did about him, but considered him to be strong and beautiful, and claimed to know he was hiding behind a mask.

Harry's frown deepened. He didn't really have a problem that a _man_ was writing to him, since he had learned from Cedric Diggory in third year that girls did nothing for him. He also didn't mind that it was an _older_ man, as he had learned from Bill Weasley. (Nothing had ever actually happened with those two-he had just been...interested in them.) He didn't even mind that it was someone who had been in Slytherin.

So then, what _was_ the problem here? Perhaps it was the fact that someone was actually interested in _him_. He was getting the feeling that this person didn't want to learn more about Harry Potter. That he wanted to learn about him-Harry. Just Harry. But...that was probably wishful thinking. After all, when was the last time anyone had cared about Harry, rather than Harry Potter?

The teen sighed deeply, making a decision. He wasn't going to write back. Not yet. He would wait for another letter. If the second letter (if it ever arrived), was anything like the first, then he would take the chance and reply. But not this time. The writer could have been anyone, even an enemy or a reporter, for all he knew. People were always trying to get to Harry Potter.

No, he would wait...

* * *

First day of classes was more than a little irritating, and that was mostly because of the three free periods Harry had ended up spending with Ron. Though Hermione's attitude in class hadn't done anything to help him either, and neither had Ginny's over lunch. Harry couldn't have been more glad for Neville's presence.

As soon as his final class had finished, Harry attempted to escape from the others, wondering where he could go where they wouldn't be able to find him. The Room of Requirement was always an option, but he knew if he didn't phrase it right, then they would still be able to find him.

The only other place he could think of was the Chamber of Secrets, but that Basilisk corpse, and that cave in... It was still worth checking out though, wasn't it? If it gave him the privacy he needed, he could at least see if there was anything he could do. Maybe there were multiple ways in and out of the Chamber or something? He certainly didn't always want to deal with Myrtle, and it would get him around the cave in too. The Basilisk was another story though.

Returning to Gryffindor Tower, Harry rushed up to the boy's dorm, and fished out his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders' Map, deciding it would be best if he kept them on him from now on, just in case.

With classes only having just finished, most students were still on their way back to their Common Rooms. Harry was quick to do what he needed and leave, before the three he was trying to avoid showed up. Ron in particular was always the first to come back, since he could relax for the rest of the day-until Hermione forced him to do his homework, at least.

Leaving the Tower, Harry hid behind a tapestry that had a secret passage, and pulled on his Cloak, before checking the Map. Myrtle's bathroom and the hallway it was in were both deserted. Well, that made things a little easier.

He made his way over, weaving around passing students, ignored the weeping ghost who didn't notice him, hissed out the password, and then slid down the pipe, closing the entrance behind him as he did so. He landed hard and awkwardly, causing him to wince at that strange electric shock type feel in his ankle, and shook it off while getting to his feet.

Pulling out his wand, he began walking down the passage, pausing when he made it to the cave in. The hole Ronald had made was still there, and he leaned down to examine it. It wasn't particularly big, but it wasn't all that small either. He really hadn't grown all that much since back then, and if he was slow and careful, he was sure he could make it through.

He was only just able to get past this obstacle, and released a sigh of relief, before freezing in place. How was he going to get back out? Not the cave in, but the pipe? Fawkes wasn't here to fly him up the thing this time. Oh dear. He sighed again, and shrugged absently. He would figure that out when he got to that point.

Harry continued on, hissing out passwords when needed, and eventually reached the main chamber-the one where he had encountered Diary Tom.

The basilisk corpse was still there, and Harry, who had been expecting the scent of rotting snake, was pleasantly surprised to find that the beast appeared to have only just died. Was there a preservation charm on the chamber itself? That was pretty useful, huh?

He approached the creature, and knelt down next to its massive head. There really wasn't anything he could do about this, but maybe if Snape kept being decently kind to him, he would let him harvest what he needed for potion ingredients. Even _he_ knew how rare these things were.

Straightening up, he wandered the chamber, examining his surroundings carefully, which had hadn't had the chance to do before. Soon enough, he neared the statue of Salazar Slytherin, the one the basilisk had come out of when Tom had called it. Should he open it? There didn't seem to be anything else around, so...

He repeated the phrase Tom had said, and then stood back, watching cautiously as the mouth opened. He was worried about there being a second basilisk, but he couldn't hear any sort of movement from within the darkness. Hesitating slightly, he stepped through, lighting his wand as he went.

It was another passage, rather than a room, and was quite large, though that was to be expected. He followed it curiously, walking until he reached a dead end. He frowned.

Dark brows burrowed, emerald eyes focused on the stone wall in contemplation. Was this _really_ a dead end? The Chamber of Secrets wasn't on the Marauders' Map, for obvious reasons, so he didn't know for sure. If there really was nothing else here, then the Chamber was actually pretty small, wasn't it? Still impressive, of course, but small.

Reaching out, he touched the wall with his left hand. It was smooth, cool, and slightly damp, but felt like a completely normal stone wall. He tapped it with his wand a few times, whispering in Parseltongue, but nothing happened.

**"Speak to me Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four,"** he repeated on a hunch.

The words took effect immediately, and the wall dissolved right before his eyes. Wand at the ready, Harry stepped through, and the room beyond had him freezing on the spot. It looked like a massive library.

There were shelves upon shelves of books, a handful of seating options, and a large desk made out of some sort of dark wood. The room was lit with many torches. Harry walked to the middle of the room, and paused in place, head turning this way and that as he took in what he was seeing.

"Looks more like a study than a library," he muttered to himself. And it certainly did, with that desk there. A little more curious about the books though, he approached the nearest shelf, and looked closely at what was written on the leather spines, careful not to touch anything at first.

A lot of the titles didn't look like they were in English. He recognized the Latin, and what he thought may have been French, and even some languages he was sure were from the east. And there was another that caught his eye, a title, that at first glance, appeared to have been written in odd squiggles. When he looked closer, he found that he could read and understand the squiggly lines perfectly.

Harry blinked. "What the...?" It didn't take him long to figure it out. Eyes widening, he took a step back, looking around again. This was in the Chamber of Secrets. A space that had been created by Salazar Slytherin. He spoke Parseltongue. Every language had to have a written version, right? Did Parseltongue have that too? Was this book, with the title he could read despite it clearly being bizarre squiggles, be written in the tongue of serpents?

Suddenly feeling eager, he reached out for the book, before stopping himself. Could he touch anything in here without getting cursed? He was a Gryffindor, and from what he'd learned, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor hadn't exactly gotten along. Would that somehow affect what he, as a member of Gryffindor House, was able to do and not do down here? He wondered if Voldemort had ever found this place. He was sure he had, but Diary Tom had never mentioned anything, so there was no telling.

Perhaps it would be best if he looked for another way out first. It wouldn't be _that_ suspicious if he didn't show his face in the Common Room or dorm, since he was known to wander at odd times, but he didn't want to draw the attention of the professors too much just yet.

There were no obvious ways out at first glance, but Harry didn't let that deter him. The entrance from the main chamber had been hidden, so he didn't doubt that any others would be too. Frankly, it would be suspicious if it wasn't. Of course, that posed the problem of where exactly it was.

The room was huge. It was going to take ages to find anything in here, let alone a hidden exit. Feeling slightly frustrated, he reached up to rub his brow, head cocking as he debated on where to start.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? It has been many a year since I last welcomed a student into my former study."

**And that's it for now. I promise the next chapter will have another letter from M, and Harry's reply to him. I can't really think of anything else to say, so, dunno when the next chapter'll be up. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


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